And Brutus is an Honorable Man." J.Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2;
Having traveled to our nation's capital to experience a national "happening" on Saturday, I can now report my personal observations and let U decide on the meaning of this gathering of more than one half million of your countrymen. First, I believe that Glenn Beck is a sincerely honorable man, misguided, but not a dishonest huckster. He had to have spent more than two million dollars of his own money to hold his Mall Rally, while raising $5.5 million dollars for military servicemen's widows and children. Know a person and a tree by its fruits - no arrests, no confrontations with infiltrators, no damage to the Mall or its environs and a positive message of the need for America to return to our nation's founding principles of self reliance, individual sacrifice and equal opportunity to all those willing to work hard to achieve success based solely upon their own labors.
So, with so much good observed, where comes the misguided conclusion? Well, Glenn Beck seemingly believes that he has been chosen by God to Save us all from the fires of Hell. Two examples of such a Messianic complex should suffice to demonstrate the danger of going into the Deep End of that Pool. Glenn Beck told us that the favorable weather on Saturday was given to him as a Gift from the Lord. God's modification of weather in DC, but not in Pakistan over the recent weeks (where tens of millions are currently in dire danger due to unrelenting rains and consequent floods) leads to legitimate concerns about the Lord's priorities in the selection of his/her favors.
Once before I heard a politician almost go over the cliff by identifying himself as God's Chosen Instrument on Earth. Rudy Gulliani, in answering a reporter's question about how close "His Honor" came to death at the World Trade Center on 9/11/01, started to say: but for God's intervention, he would have died. He got about half that answer out, caught himself and answered "Just lucky". A Deity to have intervened for the mayor's survival (while 3000 + others were allowed to die in the most horrible ways imaginable - burn to death or jump out a window 1000 feet above the street below - which gruesome end dozens chose), gives rise to very uncomfortable questions as to the nature of that Divine Spirit, or as with Mr. Beck, that individual's view of his own righteousness and the unworthiness of all others.
This "I'm a Prophet" aspect of Beck's zealous crusade to save us most probably will end badly, as Imus has told us repeatedly. Just saying ...
Ah, and here lies the great difficulty. I, like you (most of the time, anyway) am a great believer in our Constitution). Yet we are guaranteed freedom of religion, so that Glenn Beck is seemingly free to believe whatever he wants about God. I have come to the conclusion that the wording of our Constitution was a great compromise to enhance its chances for passage. I have frequently found it most convenient to assume that the constitution protects ones choice of organized religions, but not necessarily one's opinions about God. Thus, Beck can choose to be a catholic or a Buddhist under the law. But he would not be protected by the constitution were he to proclaim that God prefers white men to black. Similarly, it would be wrong to state that God chose to make the weather nice in DC, while allowing Pakistanis to drown in flood waters. This is the same argument that asks 'If God exists, and if he is, by definition, all-powerful, then why does he allow innocent children to suffer?" How quaint, really. It reminds me of the ancient Greeks and Romans, who dreamed up many Gods and ascribed human traits to them, like love and anger and jealousy.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, yours is the second report I have received of the Glenn Beck rally. The other, obviously from a military sympathizer, was caught up in all the hoopla and provided a very favorable report. I see no harm in that, and I'm glad someone was uplifted by the event. I sometimes wish that I believed in the fires of Hell, and that Glenn Beck could somehow save me from them. But I cant't reconcile the contradictions of history. Hasn't most of human suffering come at the hands of jihadists, crusaders, and other religious zealots?
He likes me, he likes me. U all read it, Lee likes me.
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